Thec-erbB-2proto-oncogeneencodesa185kDaproteinp185,whichbelongstoepidermalgrowthfactorreceptorfamily.Amplificationofthisgenehasbeenshowntocorrelatewithpoorclinicalprognosisforcertaincancerpatients.ThemonoclonalantibodyA21whichdirectedagainstp185specificallyinhibitsproliferationoftumorcellsoverexpressingp185,henceallowsittobeacandidatefortargetedtherapy.InordertoovercomeseveraldrawbacksofmurineMAb,wecloneditsVHandVLgenesandconstructedthesingle-chainFv(scFv)throughapeptidelinker.TherecombinantscFvA21wasexpressedinEscherichiacoliandpurifiedbytheaffinitycolumn.SubsequentlyitwascharacterizedbyELISA,Westernblot,cellimmunohistochemistryandFACS.Alltheseassaysshowedthebindingactivitytoextracellulardomain(ECD)ofp185.BasedonthosepropertiesofscFvA21,wefurtherconstructedthescFv-Fcfusionmoleculewithahomodimerformandtherecombinantproductwasexpressedinmammaliancells.Inaseriesofsubsequentanalysisthisfusionproteinshowedidenticalantigenbindingsiteandactivitywiththeparentantibody.Theseanti-p185engineeredantibodieshavepromisedtobefurthermodifiedasatumortargetingdrugs,withaviewofapplicationinthediagnosisandtreatmentofhumanbreastcancer.
